This invention relates generally to improved means and methods for providing fault detection in data processing systems, and particularly with regard to detecting faults related to signal timing variations.
The detection of timing variation faults which could produce errors, particularly in clock generation and distribution circuitry, presents a particularly difficult problem. Typically, testing for such faults is provided off-line, since the provision of known on-line fault detecting circuitry for this purpose (in order to provide fault detection during actual operation) has been found to not only be expensive, but also to undesirably increase circuit complexity, and may additionally degrade operating speed.